


Empirical Evidence

by anisland



Category: Orphan Black (TV)
Genre: Between Episodes, Canon Compliant, Comfort, One Shot, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-21
Updated: 2017-02-21
Packaged: 2018-09-25 22:56:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9850484
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anisland/pseuds/anisland
Summary: Cosima is crushed when Delphine chooses the DYAD over her. Luckily, one of her sisters is there to remind her of how great she is.Originally written two years ago for a class assignment and inspired by a season three trailer.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own Orphan Black or its characters. Thank you for reading, and the usual apologizes for typos overlooked in editing.

     Cosima knows Delphine is about to betray her for the DYAD, but part of her doesn’t care. Rachel and Leekie and the DYAD, the ones who offered her a place to research, to cure herself, to save the clones, are also the ones who meant to deceive her, who used her, who wanted Kira.  
     Kira. That poor kid.  
     “So,” Delphine says, staring at the floor, almost meek. “I’m going.”  
     The hot tears already begin to swell up behind her eyelashes. Cosima blinks them back, hopes they don’t fog her glasses. She was dying. She was brave. She hasn’t cried about that once. Why should she cry through this?  
     “Delphine,” she breathes. “You can’t. You can’t go.” Being with Delphine, being in love with Delphine, could have cost the clones everything, and it actually might as well have. Sarah warned her so many times, her most reckless sister, the one who came back to Toronto fleeing her abusive dealer boyfriend to steal her daughter back from her foster mother and start a new life. Sarah, the one who never thought, just did, told her to stay away from Delphine, told her to keep this woman, this DYAD scientist, Cosima’s own monitor, away from Kira. And now Leekie is dead and Rachel, the protoclone, their first sister, has assumed total control of the DYAD Institute, has kidnapped Kira for study, has decided to promote Delphine to a position that would posit her as decidedly anti-clone, anti-sisters, anti-Cosima.  
     This is entirely what hurts the most about everything. Cosima always thought she was right, that Delphine would protect Kira, that she dipped her foot in both pools but always played for the Clone Club. She’s searched for every possible solution to this puzzle, the question of why their relationship wasn’t enough to make Delphine’s decision for her.  
     “Cosima. I wasn’t supposed to fall for you,” Delphine responds, her eyes also beginning to shine. This is exactly what she said when Cosima confronted her about selling out the other clones. Then, Delphine was trying to convince her to stay. Now, she wants to convince her to let her leave.  
     Cosima clenches her fists, takes a deep breath, wonders if Delphine ever loved her at all. “If you go, if you keep working for Rachel, you’re putting the rest of us in danger. Sarah and Allison and Helena, my sisters, all of us. Me. You’d be hurting me.”  
     Delphine shakes her head, blinks a few times to hold the tears back, and finally looks Cosima in the eye. “I’m sorry.” She turns around and walks away, leaving Cosima standing on a street corner as the walk light flashes and Sarah crosses over after watching the whole thing. She doesn’t say anything, doesn’t even mutter an “I told you so.” Instead, she just envelops Cosima in a tight hug, squeezing so hard Cosima can feel it in her ribs, in her bones.  
     She considers Sarah more like herself than any of the other clones. Rougher around the edges, sure, and less likely to cry, but also just as headstrong, just as smart, just as stupid about who she loves.  
  
     They sit at the bar, the same one where they first talked after meeting each other at Allison’s. The same bartender serves drinks, smiling as he sees them, clearly not remembering. Just two more customers, just two more drinks. “Are you twins?” he asks for the second time.   
     Just like before, Sarah smirks at him. “Would you believe clones?” He laughs at her as he serves Sarah a pint and Cosima a red wine. He doesn’t know how much has changed.  
     “She betrayed us,” Cosima says, staring into her glass, trying to pick out each little individual particle with her eyes, trying to focus on something she can solve.   
     “I hate to break it to you, Cos, but she’s already done that,” Sarah says. “This time, it’s all you.”   
     Cosima gives a weak laugh. “She’s the cold turkey asshole.” Sarah furrows her brows at her, frowns, and Cosima doesn’t have it in her to explain. Instead, she takes a sip of her wine and coughs as the acid hits her tongue. “Dude, this is so bad.”   
     “What did you expect from this place?”  
     Cosima laughs again, stronger this time, feeling the stale bar as its air enters her lungs. Sarah joins her, placing a supportive arm around her shoulder. It’s weight and warmth melt a little of the pressure.  
     Finally, Sarah looks Cosima straight in the eye, their faces inches away from one another. “You’re too good for her.” Cosima begins to shake her head no, but Sarah grabs her hard by the collar of her shirt and jerks her even closer. “Don’t even think that. Listen to me. You’re. Too. Good. For. Her. You found a way to save yourself. You helped Kira. You’re stronger and braver than she deserves.”  
     Cosima inhales slowly, exhales, remembers the weed she has stowed away in her apartment back in Minneapolis, how things were easier as a kid in San Francisco. She wonders if her parents know she’s a clone. She realizes she hasn’t told her parents that she’s probably dying.  
     “Yeah,” she says. “Yeah. Stronger. I’m stronger.” She doesn’t quite believe it, but Sarah does, and probably Allison and even Helena, so she figures it could very well be true. All the calls from Allison after Beth died, all the time and love she has to give her sisters.   
     It’s the best empirical evidence she’ll get.  



End file.
